Imperial Parliament (Jinavia)
250px|thumb|right|Imperial Parliament Building The Parliament of the Holy Empire of Jinavia is the supreme legislative body in Jinavia and Jinavian overseas territories and colonies. At its head is the Sovereign, Emperor Jules IX. The parliamentary body is a complex structure, with different components according the jurisdictions. The "Imperial-and-Dominion" level is unicameral, with the House of Peers which acts as a "federal" parliament; the single realm level (the Holy Empire of Jinavia and the single Dominions) has a bicameral parliament, with an upper house every Realm, the House of Nobles (which could have different names and titles), and a lower house every Realm. The Emperor is the overall component of the legislatures. The House of Peers includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual (the senior Cardinarsl of the Imperial Church of Jinavia) and the Lords Temporal (the Princes of the Empire) and performes the supreme judicial role through the Law Peers. The Houses of Nobles are the parliamentary upper houses with elections within other nobles and aristocracy. The elections are to be held at least every 20 years. The lower houses of national parliaments have their own procedures. Supreme legislative power is vested in the Sovereign-in-Parliament. House of Peers 250px|thumb|right|The Chamber of House of Peers The Most Honourable House of Peers, usually called "Lords", is the sole and only House of the Imperial Parliament of the Realms of the Commonwealth. The House of Peers excercises ordinary legislative competence with Sovereign: with few exceptions, no law can be passed without the assent of the three parliamentary bodies. The House of Peers exercises competences competing with the Sovereign: * Affairs related to Jinavian Colonial Commonwealth in its entirity, while local Dominions affairs are entrusted to local Houses of Nobles (but Holy Jinavian Empire affairs are processed by both House of Peers and House of Nobles of Jinavia) and local colonial affairs are dealt by Viceroys and Government. * Institutional review * Policy orientation of the government And, in an autonomous way, the House of Peers exercises the supreme judicial function. Membership in the House of Peers is birthright of hereditary peers, partly mitigated by the Emperor's right of appointment for life and participation rights of some figures. The members of the House of Peers who sit by virtue of their ecslesiastical offices are known as Peers of the Church. The 12 General Orders of Monastic Fathers, Patriarch of the Empire and 12 Cardinal Priests elected for life by the Synod of the Church are members of Peers. Secular Peers are the largest group in the House of Peers. Unlike like the Church ones, can openly take sides politically. Saecular Peers also include Lords of Appeal, a group of peers appointed by the Chamber to carry out the functions of the Constitutional High Court of Justice in regard to it. The Lords of Appeal, more commonly known as Law Lords, are selected by the Prime Minister, who proposes to the Emperor, who in turn presents them to the Chamber because it approves them. A Lord of Appeal must withdraw as soon as he reaches the age of 70. The number of Lords of Appeal is limited to twelve and traditionally they do not participate in policy debates, so that they can maintain their judicial independence. Lords of the Blood are close relatives reigning Emperor. Are thus members of the House of Peers by birthright: * the Crown Prince, at the age of 18 * the Princes of Blood, at the age of 21 Peers-by-law. They cease from the office of Peer, unless they otherwise are entitled to remain, when they cease their membership which is expected in the House of Peers. * Prime Minister of the Empire * The Praetorian Prefect of the Imperial Guard * The Chairman of the Imperial Universities and Academies of His Majesty * The President of the Imperial Conference of Enterprises * The President of the Confederation of His Imperial Majesty's Trade Unions * The Lord Prince-of-Arms The Emperor may appoint twenty-five life peers for having "shown high merits for the Fatherland." Only Princes can be Peers, and other Peers of the House are considered to be equal to Princes. Lord Chancellor of the House of Peers The Lord Chancellor of the House of Peers is a senior and important functionary in the House of Peers. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the efficient functioning and independence of the courts. He is the presiding officer of the House of Peers, and the head of the judiciary in Jinavia. The Lord Chancellor is also Minister of Justice. One of the Lord Chancellor's responsibilities is to act as the custodian of the Great Seal as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. The Lord Chancellor performs several different judicial roles. He sit as a Judge in the Judicial Committee of the House of Peers (the highest Court in the Holy Empire of Jinavia) among Lords of Appeal. He is the President of the Supreme Court of the Empire, and therefore supervises the Courts of Appeal, the High Court of Justice and the Crown Court. The functions in relation to the House of Peers are usually delegated to the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Most Lord Chancellors give judgments only in cases reaching the House of Peers. When peers are tried for felonies or for high treason by other peers in the House of Peers (instead of commoners and other nobles on juries), the Lord High Steward, instead of the Lord Chancellor, would preside. Lord Chairman of the Committees The Lord Chairman of Committees is an officer of the House of Peers who presides over the House when it is in committee both in the House of Peers and in Grand Committee, which is when committee stage is taken away from the floor to free up debating time in the main Chamber. The Lord Chairman also chairs various select committees of the House, and has a role in the Administration of the House. The Lord Chairman of Committees withdraws from political party membership. The Chairman is assisted by the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees and several other Deputyies Chairman of Committees. His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition is led by the Lord Leader of the Opposition. This is usually the political party or coalition with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Peers, as the largest party or coalition will usually form Government. Whilst most days in the House of Peers are set aside for government business, twenty days in each session are set aside for opposition debates. Lord Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition is often seen as the Prime Minister-in-waiting; he receives perquisites like those of a Minister. House of Nobles 250px|thumb|right|The Chamber of Standing Committee of the House of Nobles The House of Nobles is the Upper house of the various Parliaments of the Commonwealth, which also comprise the Sovereign and the lower houses. The House of Nobles is an elected body, consisting of 650 nobles, who are known as "Nobles of Parliament". Nobles of Parliament are elected within imperial nobility (although princes do not have right to be elected at House of Nobles) through the first-past-the-post system by electoral districts known as Circles. They hold their seats until House of Nobles is dissolved (a maximum of twenty years after the preceding election). Members and Elections Each Noble of Parliament represents a single Circle. The boundaries of the Circles are determined by four permanent and independent Boundary Commissions, which conduct general reviews of electoral boundaries once every 12 to 16 years. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into account local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement in order to prevent great disparities in the noble population of the various Circles. The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. Currently the Empire is divided into 650 Circles. General elections occur whenever House of Nobles is dissolved by the Sovereign. The timing of the dissolution is normally chosen by the Emperor; however, a parliamentary term may not last for more than twenty years. A candidate for a Circle must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered nobles from that Circle, and pay a deposit, which is refunded only if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote. Each Circle returns one Noble of Parliament, using the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which the candidate with a plurality of votes wins. Members of the House of Peers, prisoner noblemen, nobles in active servixe in Armed Forces and insane persons are not qualified to become Nobles of Parliament. In order to vote, one must be a noble, resident of the Empire as well as a citizen of the Empire, of a Jinavian overseas territory, or of a Jinavian colony. Jinavian noblemen living abroad are allowed to vote for 15 years after moving from the Empire. No one may vote in more than one Circle. Once elected, Nobles of Parliament normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of House of Nobles. If a Noble, however, dies or ceases to be qualified, his seat falls vacant. It is also possible for the House of Nobles to expel a Noble, but this power is exercised only in cases of serious misconduct or treason activity. In each case, a vacancy may be filled by a by-election in the appropriate Circle, with the same electoral system as in general elections. The term "Noble of Parliament" is used only to refer to Noblemen of the House of Nobles. Houses of Nobles in Jinavian Commonwealth In every Dominion and in Jinavia there is a House of Nobles, with the same powers and requirements of Jinavian House of Nobles. Both in the Dominions and in Jinavia the Houses of Nobles take care of local affairs without interference by the Peers, while they cannot deal with Imperial and Commonwealth affairs an higher level than a consultative one. Serbjieza and South Serbjieza have 500 Nobles of Parliament each while Nigestria has an upper house consisting of 600 Nobles of Parliament. Imperial Political Consultative Conference The Imperial Political Consultative Conference is the Lower House in the Parliament of the Holy Empire of Jinavia. The organization consists of delegates from a range of political parties and organizations, as well as independent members, in Jinavia. The proportion of representation of the various parties is determined by established convention. Members are drawn mostly from independent people who are not members of any party. The Conference is, to a large degree, controlled by the Government of the Empire, but it is intended to be representative and be composed of a broad range of commoners. Territorial hierarchy The National Committee of the Imperial Political Consultative Conference (NCIPCC) typically holds a yearly meeting at the same time as Solemn Sessions of the Imperial Parliament. Both Consultative Conference and Parliament Solemn Sessions are often making important national level political decisions. The organizational hierarchy of the IPCC includes the National Committee and regional committees. Regional Committees of the IPCC include the exarchate and provincial level. The relationship between the National Committee and the regional committees is a relationship of guidance. So are the relationships between upper-level regional committees and lower-level committees. Operating budgets on each level are independently administered by the financial administrations for the Imperial Region, making the National committee and all regional committees separate individual entities. Imperial Continuing Committee The Imperial Continuing Committee is a body present within the Holy Jinavian Empire and serves as one of the highest governmental groups. It is headed by the Prime Minister of the Empire and comprises of members of the House of Peers as well as other high ranking officials such as the Director General of SECECO. The duties of the Committee include the confirmation of proposals for appointment of top-ranking officers and officials, although the last and ultimate word is given by the Emperor. The Prime Minister is the only member who is guaranteed a seat on the Committee; all others, even high ranking officials such as the Director General of SECECO, must compete to be allowed in. Category:Jinavia